1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a modular heavy goods vehicle comprising a left-hand vehicle module having a left-hand longitudinal frame part that extends in the vehicle length direction and to which at least two left-hand wheel assemblies are attached one behind the other when viewed in the vehicle length direction, a right-hand vehicle module that is formed separately from said left-hand module and has a right-hand longitudinal frame part that extends in the vehicle length direction and to which at least two right-hand wheel assemblies are attached one behind the other when viewed in the vehicle length direction, and two connection units that extend in the vehicle width direction, one free end of which units is connected to the left-hand longitudinal frame part and the other free end of which is connected to the right-hand longitudinal frame part.
It should be pointed out here that, in connection with the present invention, direction specifications such as “left-hand”, “right-hand”, “front”, “rear” and the like both relate to a state in which the modular heavy goods vehicle is ready to start and assume a viewing direction that coincides with the forward travel direction of the modular heavy goods vehicle. This ready-to-start state and this viewing direction also form the basis for the description of the individual modules from which the modular heavy goods vehicle is assembled.
2. Discussion of Background Information
The applicant has successfully distributed modular heavy goods vehicles and modules for modular heavy goods vehicles of this kind for many years. The basic principle of the modular construction consists in a kit of modules that can be combined with one another being made available to the haulage companies, from which modules a vehicle suitable for transporting the load in question can be assembled for each haulage job.
In particular in view of the specific licensing and operating requirements in the USA and in Australia, the applicant has in this case also developed the generic modular heavy goods vehicles that comprise a vehicle frame that is split in the longitudinal centre plane of the vehicle such that not only can the desired vehicle length be obtained by arranging a plurality of vehicle modules one behind the other, but the desired vehicle width can also be obtained by arranging connection units between the left-hand and right-hand vehicle modules, which units extend in the vehicle width direction. In this way, it is possible to achieve vehicle widths of up to 6100 mm (20 feet) for example.
It can be clearly seen that the operation of heavy goods vehicles of this kind is subject to specific requirements, since said vehicles occupy more than one carriageway on account of their large vehicle width. However, making the operation safe by way of escort or even police vehicles results in high costs which, although unavoidable when transporting the load to the destination, are not acceptable for the return journey in the unladen state. In this respect, the applicant's generic modular heavy goods vehicles offer the vehicle operator the possibility of dismantling the vehicles at the destination after the load has been unloaded, and in particular removing the connection units that extend in the vehicle width direction, with the result that the left-hand and right-hand vehicle modules can be directly fixed to one another. However, this adaptation of course also requires work time and therefore results in costs.